Table 1 Characteristics of included studies by study type
Author (Year) | Study Location | Study Type & Methods | Target Population | Sample Characteristics | JBI Quality Appraisal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Observational Studies (n = 20) | |||||
Al-Ajarma (2010) | United States (HIC) | Qualitative: Narrative inquiry and semi-structured interviews | Palestinian graduate students | n = 7 Age: 28-44 years Gender: 43% females Religion: not specified Education: 57% university Country of origin: 100% Palestine | Qual = 9/10 High |
Alhaddad et al. (2021) | Germany (HIC) | Qualitative: Semi-structured interviews | Newly arrived Syrian and Iraqi refugee youths | n = 20 Age: 14–18 years (M = 16, SD = 1.7) Gender: 35% females Religion: 75% Islam, 10% Izidi, 15% none Education: 65% regular classes, 35% welcome classes Country of origin: 70% Syria, 30% Iraq | Qual = 9/10 High |
Boswall & Akash (2015) | Jordan (UMIC) | Qualitative: In-depth ethnography | Syrian women and adolescent girls | n = 50 Age: 14–66 years Gender: 100% females Religion: 100% religious Muslims Education: incomplete education levels Country of origin: 100% Syria | Qual = 9/10 High |
Chaaya et al. (2007) | Lebanon (UMIC) | Mixed Methods: questionnaire and interviews | Older adults in three poor suburbs of Beirut, one of which was a Palestinian refugee camp | n = 246 (Palestinian refugees) Age: ≥60 years Gender: 54% females Religion: 100% Muslims Education: 40% literate Country of origin: 95% Palestine, 5% Lebanon | Cross-sectional = 8/8 High Qual = 9/10 High |
Darychuk & Jackson (2015) | West Bank/Palestine (LMIC) | Qualitative: Semi-structured interviews | Palestinian women in West Bank camps | n = 31 Age: 22–48 years (M = 35) Gender: 100% females Religion: not specified Education: not specified Country of origin: 100% Palestine | Qual = 10/10 High |
Ferguson (2015) | United States (HIC) | Qualitative: Semi-structured interviews | Iraqi refugee men | n = 10 Age: 18–60 years Gender: 0% females Religion: 50% Chaldeans, 50% Muslims Education: 10% primary, 90% post primary Country of origin: 100% Iraq | Qual = 10/10 High |
International Medical Corps (2017) | Jordan (UMIC) | Mixed Methods: Questionnaire, key informant interviews (KII) and focus group discussions (FGDs) | Syrian refugees in 11 cities and 2 camps and Jordanian nationals in same cities | n = 6,375 Age: ≥18 years (M = 34, SD = 11) Gender: 59% females (Urban); 39% females (Camp) Religion: not specified Education: 90% formal (Urban); 79% formal education (Camp) Country of origin: Syria | Cross-sectional = 8/8 High Qual = 9/10 High |
International Medical Corps Lebanon (2011) | Lebanon (UMIC) | Qualitative: Semi-structured interviews | Forcibly displaced Syrians at Lebanon-Syria border | n = 100 Age: 32 years (mean age only) Gender: 64% females Religion: 100% Sunni Muslims Education: 18% illiterate, 79% elementary & high school Country of origin: 100% Syria | Qual = 7/10 Medium |
Irfaeya (2006) Irfaeya et al. (2008) | Germany (HIC) | Mixed Methods: Survey, KII and FGD | Arab migrant women in Cologne | n = 116 Age: ≥18 years (M = 32) Gender: 100% females Religion: 100% Muslims Education: 8% illiterate, 68% school, 54% post school Country of origin: 31% Morocco, 23% other, 12% Lebanon, 9% Germany, 9% Tunisia, 9% Iraq, 8% Syria | Cross-sectional = 6/8 Medium Qual = 9/10 High |
Jamil (2020) | Canada (HIC) | Mixed Methods: Questionnaire and semi-structured interviews | First or 1.5 generation adult Arab immigrants | Quantitative: n = 172 Age: ≥18 years (M = 30, SD = 13, range = 18–65) Gender: 58% females Religion: 67% Muslims, 33% Christians Education: 21% high school, 16% college, 49% university, 15% other Country of origin: 92% Middle Eastern, 9% North and East African Qualitative: n = 11 Age: ≥18 years (M = 29, SD = 10, range = 19–57) Gender: 55% females Religion: 82% Muslims, 9% Christians Education: 9% high school, 18% college, 18% university, 18% other Country of origin: 99% Middle Eastern | Cross-sectional = 8/8 High Qual = 10/10 High |
Kadri (2009) | New Zealand (HIC) | Qualitative: Semi-structured interviews | Arabic-speaking Muslim refugees from Arab/Muslim countries | n = 31 Age: 16–52 years Gender: 52% females Religion: 100% religious Muslims Education: 3% no school, 71% school, 26% university Country of origin: 74.1% Iraq, 9.7% Kuwait, 6.5% Sudan, 6.5% Somalia, 3.2% Tunisia | Qual = 10/10 High |
Keshavarzi (2018) | Canada (HIC) | Qualitative: Semi-structured individual interviews | Recently arrived Muslim Arab Syrian refugees residing in Ontario | n = 10 Age: 30–55 years Gender: 50% females Religion: 100% Sunni Muslims Education: 70% elementary to high school; 30% college and university Country of origin: 100% Syria | Qual = 10/10 High |
MakkiAlamdari (2020) | United States (HIC) | Quantitative: Cross-sectional study using questionnaire | War-affected Arab refugees in the US | n = 130 Age: ≥18 years (M = 41, SD = 14, range = 18–72) Gender: 40% females Religion: not specified Education: 5% no school but literate, 47% school, 19% some college, 29% university Country of origin: 77% Middle Eastern countries, 23% African countries, 2% other | Cross-sectional = 8/8 High |
Nashwan et al. (2019) | United States (HIC) | Qualitative: Semi-structured interviews | Iraqi female refugees | n = 22 Age: 50–63 years (M = 54.7, SD = 4.1) Gender: 100% females Religion: 77.3% Muslims, 22.7% Christians Education: 9.1% none, 72.7% primary/secondary education, 18.2% post-secondary/undergraduate degree Country of origin: 100% Iraq | Qual = 9/10 High |
Qureshi (2016) | United Kingdom (HIC) | Qualitative: Narrative inquiry and semi-structured interviews | Syrian male refugees | n = 3 Age: 21-35 years Gender: 0% females Religion: not specified Education: 67% university Country of origin: Syria | Qual = 10/10 High |
Rayes et al. (2021) | Germany (HIC) | Qualitative: Semi-structured interviews | Arabic or Farsi speaking adults with refugee or asylum seeker status in Germany | n = 17 Age: 22-47 years (M = 35) Gender: 35% females Religion: 100% Muslims, 12% non-religious (or non-practicing) Muslims Education: not specified Country of origin: 71% Syria, 29% Iraq | Qual = 10/10 High |
Renner et al. (2020) | Germany (HIC) | Qualitative: Semi-structured focus groups | Syrian refugees residing in Germany since 2015 | n = 20 Age: ≥18 years (M = 28, SD = 9, range = 20–60) Gender: 20% females Religion: not specified Education: 30% university degree, 70% other Country of origin: 100% Syria | Qual = 8/10 High |
Sim et al. (2023) | Canada (HIC) | Mixed Methods: Quantitative: (survey) & Qualitative (open ended questions) | Arabic-speaking refugee parents experiencing depression and anxiety living in Canada | n = 40 Age: ≥18 years (M = 43.3, SD = 7.81) Gender: 60% females Religion: not specified Education: 10% no formal education, 77.5% primary and secondary school, 12.5% post-secondary and above Country of origin: 82.5% Syria, 10% Iraq, 7.5% Sudan | Cross-sectional = 6/8 Medium Qual = 9/10 High |
Tauson (2017) | Thailand (UMIC) | Qualitative: Participant observation & in-depth interviews | Palestinian-Syrian refugees in Bangkok | n = 9 Age: 20-50 years Gender: 22% females Religion: 100% Muslims Education: 11% tertiary education Country of origin: Palestine and Syria | Qual = 10/10 High |
Zbidat et al. (2020) | Germany (HIC) | Qualitative: Semi-structured interviews | Syrian refugees residing in Germany since 2014 or less | n = 16 Age: ≥18 years (M = 36, SD = 11, range = 21–55) Gender: 50% females Religion: 81% Muslims, 13% Christians, 6% other Education: 43% school, 6% university degree, 18% other Country of origin: 100% Syria | Qual = 10/10 High |
Intervention Studies (n = 37) | |||||
Acarturk et al. (2022) | Turkey (UMIC) | Quantitative: randomised controlled trial (RCT) | Arabic-speaking Syrian refugees | Intervention n = 322 Age: ≥18 years (M = 31.2, SD = 9) Gender: 64% females Religion: 42% Muslims Education: 5.28% illiterate, 62.73% primary, 16.46% high school, 14.60% university Country of origin: 98.4% Syria, 1.2% Iraq | RCT = 12/13 High |
Ahmad et al. (2020) | Egypt (LMIC) and Germany (HIC) | Quantitative: Quasi-experimental (questionnaire) | Syrian refugee children from Egypt and Germany | n = 16 Age: ≥14 years (M = 15, SD = 2, range = 14–18) Gender: 25% females (both Egypt and Germany) Religion: not specified Education: not specified Country of origin: 100% Syria | Quasi-Experimental = 6/9 Medium |
Aladdin & Hawamdeh (2021) | Jordan (UMIC) | Quantitative: RCT | Syrian refugee male students enrolled in the sixth and seventh grades | n = 40 Age: ≥12 years (M = 13, SD = 1, range = 12–14) Gender: 0% females Religion: not specified Education: school Country of origin: 100% Syria | RCT = 8/13 Medium |
Al-Dmour & Al-Safasfeh (2020) | Jordan (UMIC) | Quantitative: RCT | Syrian refugee female students | n = 30 Age: 12-15 years Gender: 100% females Religion: not specified Education: school Country of origin: 100% Syria | RCT = 8/13 Medium |
Al-Refai et al. (2022) | Jordan (UMIC) | Quantitative: RCT | Syrian refugees | n = 36 Age: 18–60 years Gender: 50% females Religion: 100% Muslims Education: school Country of origin: 100% Syria | RCT = 10/13 Medium |
Al-Shahadat (2021) | Jordan (UMIC) | Quantitative: RCT | Syrian refugee female students enrolled in the 7th, 8th and 9th grade | n = 30 Age: 13-16 years Gender: 100% females Religion: not specified Education: school Country of origin: 100% Syria | RCT = 8/13 Medium |
Alsheikh Ali (2020) | Jordan (UMIC) | Quantitative: Quasi-experimental (pre-posttest questionnaires) | Syrian refugee females in Jordan | n = 40 Age: 30-50 years Gender: 100% females Religion: not specified Education: not specified Country of origin: 100% Syria | Quasi-Experimental = 7/9 Medium |
Blignault et al. (2019) | Australia (HIC) | Quantitative: Quasi-experimental (pre-post and follow-up questionnaire) | Arabic-speaking adults in Sydney | n = 70 Age: 18–65 years Gender: 73% females Religion: 94% Muslims Education: 49% no post-school qualifications Country of origin: 79% Lebanon, 21% other | Quasi-Experimental = 8/9 High |
Blignault et al. (2021a) | Australia (HIC) | Mixed Methods: Quantitative Quasi-experimental (questionnaire) & Qualitative (participant feedback) | Arabic-speaking Muslim women in Sydney | n = 20 [PPA] Age: 18-65 years Gender: 100% females Religion: 100% Muslims Education: 45% post-school qualifications Country of origin: 55% Iraq, 20% Lebanon, 15% Syria, 10% Libya | Quasi-Experimental = 8/9 High Qual = 10/10 High |
Blignault et al. (2021b) | Australia (HIC) | Mixed Methods: Quantitative (RCT) & Qualitative (participants’ log sheet comments) | Arabic-speaking community members in Sydney | n = 131 Arabic speakers [PPA] Age: 14% 16-25 years, 24% 26-35 years, 17% 36-45 years, 45% other (M = 13) Gender: 83% females Religion: 63% Muslims, 37% Christians, 1% none Education: 45% Year 12 or less, 39% university, 14% trade certificate Country of origin: 29% Lebanon, 21% Australia, 49% other | RCT = 9/13 Medium Qual = 10/10 High |
Blignault et al. (2022) | Australia (HIC) | Mixed Methods: Quantitative (self-report questionnaires) and Qualitative (semi-structured interviews) | Arabic-speaking women in Australia | n = 18 Age: 26–55 years Gender: 100% females Religion: 80.76% Muslims, 11.5% Christians Education: 69% post-school qualification Country of origin: 92% born overseas (Iraq, Lebanon, Syria) | Quasi-experimental = 7/9 Medium Qual = 9/10 High |
Bryant et al. (2022a) Bryant et al. (2022b) | Jordan (UMIC) | Quantitative: RCT | Arabic-speaking Syrian refugees living in Azraq Refugee Camp (Jordan) | Intervention n = 204 Age: ≥18 years (M = 39.38, SD = 6.71) Gender: 71% females Religion: not specified Education: 27.5% none, 63.7% certificate, 6.8% secondary education, 2% university Country of origin: Syria | RCT = 11/13 High |
Cuijpers et al. (2022) | Lebanon (UMIC) | Quantitative: RCT | Arabic-speaking Syrian displaced people/refugees in Lebanon | Intervention n = 283 Age: ≥18 years (M = 31.4, SD = 8.5) Gender: 61.7% females Religion: not specified Education: 67.9% school, 26.1% university, 6% other Country of origin: 100% Syria | RCT = 12/13 High |
de Graaff et al. (2020) | Netherlands (HIC) | Mixed Methods: Quantitative (RCT) and Qualitative (semi-structured interviews) | Adult Arabic-speaking Syrian refugees in Rotterdam, Netherlands | Intervention n = 30 Age: ≥18 years (M = 37.6, SD = 11.8) Gender: 60% females Religion: not specified Education: 51.7% no or basic education, 24.1% secondary education and above Country of origin: Syria | RCT = 11/13 High Qual = 8/10 High |
de Graaff et al. (2023) | Netherlands (HIC) | Quantitative: RCT | Arabic-speaking Syrian refugees, experiencing symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety living in the Netherlands | Intervention n = 103 Age: ≥18 years (M = 36.4, SD = 11.97, range = 18–69) Gender: 29.1% females Religion: not specified Education: 9.7% no or basic education, 20.4% technical/vocational/associate degrees, 69.9% secondary to tertiary education Country of origin: Syria | RCT = 11/13 High |
DePierro (2020) | Jordan (UMIC) | Quantitative: RCT | Syrian refugees, living in the Za’atri Refugee Camp in Jordan able to speak, read and write in Arabic | n = 128 Age: ≥18 years Gender: 49% females Religion: not specified Education: 100% literate Country of origin: Syria | RCT = 9/13 Medium |
Doumit et al. (2020) | Lebanon (UMIC) | Quantitative: Quasi-experimental (questionnaires/surveys) | Adolescent Syrian refugees | n = 31 [PPA] Age: 13-17 years (M = 14, SD = 1) Gender: 52% females Religion: not specified Education: school Country of origin: 100% Syria | Quasi-Experimental = 8/9 High |
Feen-Calligan et al. (2023) | United States (HIC) | Qualitative: Photovoice techniques | Arab American adolescents with refugee or immigrant background recently resettled in Michigan, US. | n = 8 Age: 15–17 years Gender: 100% females Religion: 100% Muslims Education: school Countries of origin: Syria, Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, and Iraq | Qual = 9/10 High |
Gordon et al. (2016) | Gaza/Palestine (LMIC) | Quantitative: Quasi-experimental (questionnaire) | Palestinian adults in Gaza | n = 92 Age: 18–49 years (M = 30) Gender: 58% females Religion: not specified Education: 51% school, 49% postsecondary Country of origin: Palestine | Quasi-Experimental = 8/9 High |
Hasha et al. (2022) | Norway (HIC) | Quantitative: RCT | Arabic-speaking adult Syrian refugees experiencing traumatic events | Intervention n = 38 Age: ≥16 years (M = 33, SD = 10.4) Gender: 32% females Religion: not specified Education: years of education (M = 10, SD = 4.8) Country of origin: 100% Syria | RCT = 10/13 Medium |
Husby et al. (2020) | Denmark (HIC) | Mixed Methods: Quantitative Quasi-experimental (questionnaire survey) & Qualitative (focus group interviews) | Arabic-speaking adult refugees from Syria and Palestine, living in Denmark and had obtained asylum no more than 5 years before the intervention | Quantitative n = 92 (Quant) Age: ≥18 years Gender: 64% females Religion: not specified Education: not specified Country of origin: 41% Syria, 2% Palestine Qualitative In FGDs, n = 32 | Quasi-Experimental = 6/9 Medium Qual = 8/10 High |
Ibrahim (2017) | Sudan (LIC) | Quantitative: Quasi-experimental (questionnaire) | Syrian refugees residing in Khartoum state, Sudan | n = 20 Age: 20-60 years Gender: 55% females Religion: not specified Education: 90% primary, 10% high school Country of origin: 100% Syria | Quasi-Experimental = 7/9 Medium |
Kayrouz et al. (2015) | Australia (HIC) | Quantitative: Quasi-experimental (pre, post and follow-up test using questionnaire) | People of Arabic ancestry living in Australia (Australia or overseas born) | n = 11 Age: 18-70 years (M = 34, SD = 9, range = 25–50) Gender: 73% females Religion: not specified Education: 73% Bachelor’s degree, 18% other Country of origin: Australia and overseas | Quasi-Experimental = 8/9 High |
Kayrouz et al. (2016) | International (N/A) | Quantitative: Quasi-experimental (pre, post and follow-up test using questionnaire) | People of Arabic ancestry living in Australia and elsewhere | n = 36 Age: 18-70 years (M = 36, SD = 12, range = 19–67) Gender: 58% females Religion: not specified Education: 64% Bachelor’s degree, 36% other Country of origin: 53% Australia, 33% Middle Eastern countries (Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia), 5.5% UK, 5.5% USA, 3% Algeria | Quasi-Experimental = 8/9 High |
Lindegaard et al. (2020) | Sweden (HIC) | Quantitative: Pilot RCT | Refugees and immigrants able to read and write Arabic fluently in Sweden | n = 59 Age: ≥18 years (M = 38, SD = 11, range = 20–69) Gender: 42% females Religion: not specified Education: 46% school, 46% completed or ongoing university education, 15% other Country of origin: not specified (78% refugee, 7% immigrant) | RCT = 8/13 Medium |
Lindegaard et al. (2021) | Sweden (HIC) | Qualitative: Semi-structured interviews | Resettled refugees and immigrants, able to read and write Arabic residing in Sweden | n = 10 Age: ≥18 years (M = 33, SD = 9, range = 20–49) Gender: 60% females Religion: not specified Education: 40% school, 50% completed or ongoing university education, 10% other Country of origin: not specified (80% refugees, 10% immigrant) | Qual = 9/10 High |
Mercy Corps (2020) | Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq (UMIC) | Mixed Methods: Quantitative Quasi-experimental (survey) & Qualitative (KIIs and FGDs) | Adolescents and youths were a mix of Iraqi, Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian, Arabs and Kurds, refugees, internally displaced people, and those from host communities | Quantitative n = 1,607 Age: 12-19 years Gender: 41% females Religion: not specified Education: not specified Country of origin: 47% Lebanon, 39% Jordan 41% refugees, 45% from host communities Qualitative In KIIs n = 36; no precise gender breakdown for males and females In FGDs n = 32; 20 males, 12 females | Quasi-Experimental = 7/9 Medium Qual = 9/10 High |
Nilsson et al. (2019) | Sweden (HIC) | Qualitative: FGDs | Arabic-speaking refugees, women and men | n = 33 Age: >18 years (M = 45, range = 22–67) Gender: 30% females Religion: not specified Education: not specified Country of origin: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, or Palestine | Qual = 10/10 High |
Panter-Brick et al. (2018) | Jordan (UMIC) | Quantitative: RCT & Quasi-Experimental | Refugees (Syrian) and host-community (Jordanian) youth | n = 463 Age: 12-18 years (M = 14, SD = 2) Gender: 47% females Religion: not specified Education: highest educational level (M = 7.04, SD = 2.15) Country of origin: 54% Syria | RCT = 9/13 Medium Quasi-Experimental = 7/9 Medium |
Powell et al. (2023) | Jordan (UMIC) | Qualitative: FGDs | Resettled Syrian refugees and Jordanians, experiencing symptoms of depression and impaired functioning | n = 21 Age: ≥18 years (M = 48) Gender: 66.7% females Religion: not specified Education: 14.3% no school, 61.9% secondary or high school, 19% some college Country of origin: 52% Jordan, 48% Syria | Qual = 10/10 High |
Raknes (2020) | Lebanon (UMIC) | Mixed Methods: Quantitative (questionnaire) & Qualitative (open-ended questions, session reports and interviews) | Syrian displaced and refugee adolescents living in Lebanese informal settlements | n = 20 Age: 13-17 years (M = 14) Gender: 60% females Religion: not specified Education: 70% illiterate or nearly illiterate Country of origin: 100% Syria | Quasi-Experimental = 6/9 Medium Qual = 9/10 High |
Rayes (2017) | Jordan (UMIC) | Quantitative: Quasi-experimental (pre-post study using survey) | Syrian refugee adolescents in 3 urban districts and 2 camp settings | n = 7,644 Age: 12-18 years Gender: 50% females Religion: not specified Education: not specified Country of origin: 100% Syria | Quasi-Experimental = 8/9 High |
Röhr et al. (2021) | Germany (HIC) | Quantitative: Pilot RCT | Syrian refugees | Intervention n = 65 Age: ≥18 years (M = 33, SD = 11, range 18–65) Gender: 34% females Religion: not specified Education: 42% high education level, 32% medium, 26% low Country of origin: 100% Syria | RCT = 13/13 High |
Skarneh & Ghaith (2020) | Jordan (UMIC) | Quantitative: RCT | Syrian refugee women | n = 30 Age: 18-50 years Gender: 100% females Religion: not specified Education: not specified Country of origin: 100% Syria | RCT = 11/13 High |
Slewa-Younan et al. (2020) | Australia (HIC) | Quantitative: Quasi-experimental (pre, post and follow-up using questionnaire) | Arabic-speaking women and men | n = 33 Age: ≥18 years (M = 48, SD = 9) Gender: 58% females Religion: not specified Education: years of education (M = 8.8, SD = 3.7) Country of origin: Syria and Iraq | Quasi-Experimental = 8/9 High |
Spaaij et al. (2022) | Jordan (UMIC) | Mixed Methods: Quantitative (RCT) and Qualitative (semi-structured interviews) | Arabic-speaking Syrian refugees and asylum seekers | Quantitative Intervention n = 31 Age: ≥18 years (M = 39.5, SD = 10.67) Gender: 45.2% females Religion: not specified Education: 80.6% basic & secondary, 19.4% university Country of origin: Syria Qualitative n = 18 Age: ≥18 years (M = 39.4, SD = 9.33) Gender: 50% females | RCT = 10/13 Medium Qual = 9/10 High |
Tashtoush & Khawaldeh (2020) | Jordan (UMIC) | Quantitative: RCT | Syrian refugee students | n = 30 Age: 13-15 years (estimated) Gender: not specified Religion: not specified Education: school Country of origin: 100% Syria | RCT = 9/13 Medium |